The overall aim of the Memphis Area Bridge Program is to increase the likelihood that minority students enrolled in Associate Degree programs at Shelby State Community College, Memphis, or the State Technical Institute at Memphis complete baccalaureate programs in the biomedical sciences or related engineering areas at Memphis State University, Memphis, and go on to eventual careers in biomedical research. African-American students are a significant component of the student body at each institution and are in the majority at Shelby State. Principal emphasis will be placed on (i) improving communication between faculty at the three institutions so as to provide continuous and consistent mentorship of promising transfer students and (ii) providing a positive biomedical research participation experience for potential transfer students in which they work with both a faculty member from their own institution and a future undergraduate research mentor at Memphis State.Careful tracking of study participants throughout the program and for more than two years beyond baccalaureate graduation will be included in the assessment of program success.